The present invention relates generally to apparatuses, systems, and methods for configuring an unpowered light emitting diode (LED) driver using an RS-232 interface.
Many luminaire manufacturers desire to configure LED drivers before shipping to customers for installation without being coupled to a mains power source. Existing methods for unpowered configuration of LED drivers include Multi-Driver Configuration (MDC) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
LED Drivers employing MDC require a direct current (DC) blocking capacitor, an isolation transformer, and sensing circuitry, which adds significant cost to an LED driver. Furthermore, to use the MDC interface, a special configuration tool capable of developing and interpreting the MDC signals must be used. Both MDC and RFID also require extra and often costly circuitry.
LED Drivers employing RFID technology require an antenna and a tag emulator integrated circuit (IC) containing a non-volatile memory space, the temperature rating of which is typically not appropriate for commercial lighting. RFID technology increases cost and decreases the reliability of LED drivers. Much like MDC circuitry, a special configuration tool is also required to configure the LED driver via RFID.